Construction, Day 21

WOW is there a lot of cool stuff to see today! First, watch the WGs get the rest of the dirt out of the way on the ground floor. Right after that, they clear some debris away around the edges. Then two very cool things happen simultaneously. You will probably need to watch a few times to see them both. First, on the ground, they start bringing in wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of gravel to cover the dirt. This is the layer that goes under the concrete floor. At the same time this is happening, they are also completing the installation of floor joists upstairs, and then they start laying down actual sub-flooring (although I think this is actually sub-sub-flooring - I believe one more layer of stuff comes down after this and before the hardwoods for the bedroom) on top of them. Finally, WGs will cover the gravel with plastic. Whew! What a day!

So, on the last frame of today's video, right in front of the camera, is a rectangular cutout. This is where the stairs from the upstairs to the downstairs is going, and here's where the miscalculation seems to have been made. We didn't clear enough head space for the stairwell! Practically speaking it means we have to extend the stairwell out a little longer so that we can go down the stairs without banging our head on the overhang every time. So, we have 5 extra feet of space in our addition to play with! Anna, our genius designer, came up with a totally spectacular plan to utilize this space to maximum effect. We get a small patio on the back entrance to the studio downstairs, and a few extra feet each in the closet, bedroom and laundry room upstairs! We totally win!

Have we mentioned recently that we worship our builders? Make no mistake, people : Renewal is the very, very best!

Construction, Day 20

We hit a bit of early precipitation, so nothing really happens in the morning. In the afternoon it clears, and then after some study of the site we're informed that there's a spot of trouble with a calculation and that some stuff is going to have to be moved. In preparation for this, a bit more dirt needs to be removed from the floor. What's the problem, you ask? Find out in the next blog entry!

Construction, Day 19

It's Framestock, day one! After much consultation and deliberation, the WGs begin to frame up this mess. I make a quick camera adjustment so we can see the entire thing, and then some floor joists made out of Engineered Wood begin to go down. w00t!

Construction, Day 18

Fuckers stole the march on me again! This time it looks like they're applying some sort of sealant on the outside of Wallapalooza. You can only see them finish the application to the near wall, and then occasionally you see evidence of WGs flailing away on the other exterior surfaces as the near wall dries. Tomorrow should be WAY more fun!

Construction, Day 17

The WGs stole the march on me this morning! Not much to see really, looks like they're just clearing the floor for the slab pour on Monday.

Construction, Day 16

Alas, it's impossible to see what's going on today. I'll add a picture of the final results soon, but what had happened is, they started roughing in the plumbing. This means digging out space for the new pipes, and also putting in the pump which is going to get the water below the level of our sewer exit pipe where it needs to go. There's also a bit more cleanup around the edges. The exciting thing is that next Monday the slab gets poured, and then we start framing! Hooray!

Construction, Day 15

Lots of stuff happening today, unfortunately most of it seems to be out of the range of the camera angle. The WGs over by the entrance are finishing the frame over the doorway. Another WG is busily trimming down the concrete pour at the base of wallapalooza. Another one is almost directly underneath the camera, removing more brick from the back of the house as well as some of the old foundation, since it's all in the way of the staircase which is going to show up in that area eventually.

Construction, Day 14

Work resumes! The guy in the red shirt wandering around is our job manager John. He's a terrific guy, looks out for us in every way. We heart John! You can totally see the blocks drying today, and John gives the go ahead for cinder block palooza to continue.

Construction, Day 13

Rain, rain, go away. The only interesting thing to note today, and it's a little hard to see thanks to the pixelization, is the water level rising and falling to the right of the wall as the rain surges, abates, and then surges and abates again. You can also see the left hand wall blocks trying to get dry and not succeeding.

Construction, Day 11

Hunh! Those clever WGs built some scaffolding and carried on with cinder block palooza, on a Saturday, no less! For the record I had a nice conversation with one of the guys on the scaffolding, and he told me in no uncertain terms that they fuckin' hate The Stupidest Fucking Dog in the World next door. Love those WGs.

Construction, Day 10

We don't need no education! It's cinder block palooza today, as the WGs start to build the walls. I dunno what they're going to do when the things get too high for them to reach them from the ground. We'll learn a secret of the construction trade soon, stay tuned!

We checked - every single wall is plumb, level, and square - putting it in diametric opposition to the rest of this house, which is none of those things.